Flower
by Super Saiyan Cyndaquil
Summary: Violet Arc, eldest sister of Jaune Arc. Lily, a Golden Retriever faunus. Wanda Weigela, a nomad that can see faeries. Rue Sylvia, the heiress to a weapon's company that no longer exists. And Beacon Academy, the place that brought them all together.
1. Welcome to Beacon

**AN:** So... what the heck is this story? Make no mistake, it's exactly what it looks like. A 100% OC fic about characters that are practically completely separate from the Canon cast. The only connection in this is Violet Arc to Jaune, but he won't be in this story at all, aside from mentioned in passing.

This was originally intended to be an omake series in my other story, Spectrum, if you read that, but it turned into _seventeen_ chapters, too long to bog down the story with. So either I just never post it, or I do this as an alternative. Which means that really, this is for my own self-satisfaction. I wrote it, so I'm going to share it, dammit.

As for the posting format, I think I'm gonna take a page from College Fool's book and just update once a day until completion. He has a point when he says it's just _weird_ to see someone post a bunch of chapters all at once. It's also a way for me to shamelessly feel like I'm doing something when really I'm just hitting a post button at the end of the day.

Jefardi agreed to look over every chapter before posting, so I would also like to thank him for that. And I'm using a picture Natzo drew for Spectrum as the cover art.

* * *

 **Flower**

 _Welcome to Beacon_

* * *

 _Blargh_

Violet Arc hated airships.

Why did Beacon have to be located at the top of a freaking cliff? What kind of insensitive whack-job picked this place as the location for a prestigious academy? Probably the kind that wasn't aware of the fact that motion sickness was a much more common problem than people let on.

Pulling back stands of purple hair and righting her ponytail, Violet shakily pulled her head out from the depths of the trashcan located at the edge of Beacon's docks, right next to where the airship had just let them off not five minutes ago.

The other prospective students gave the eldest Arc sibling a wide berth. Orange eyes scanned them all, most quickly averting their gaze and hastening their pace. So much for making a good first impression. New school, new faces, and right off the bat she was only going to be known as "Vomit Girl" or some other equally humiliating nickname. At least she hadn't met any old faces from Signal yet.

"Well if it isn't Miss Pride herself." She just _had_ to think something. "I see you plan to continue your usual morning ritual here at Beacon too."

"Sylvia…" Violet practically spit the name, a small string of vomit rolling down her lower lip and to the base of her chin. She turned and looked at the approaching girl, who was already wearing her Beacon uniform.

"It's Rue. Calling me Sylvia makes me feel like my mom." Rue Sylvia stopped short several feet from Violet, one hand resting on her hip, the other coming up to flick one of the two braided loops her white hair was tied into.

The last time Violet had seen her was before they graduated Signal. At the time, she hadn't even been sure if Rue would end up continuing her Huntress training at all, let alone come to Beacon. Yet here she was.

"Calling someone by their first name is a right I reserve for my friends and siblings." Violet pushed off the trashcan, standing up straight and bringing a hand to rest on the hilt of her katana, Ostrum Tempus.

"So just your siblings, then?" Rue shook her head in mock pity. "I thought you would be more happy to see me here, seeing as you practically begged me to stay."

Violet felt her face heat up. "I did no such thing." The only thing she had done was have a duel against her, not unlike the dozens they had before. Rue was the only one that never kept trying to defeat her in combat, after everyone else had already given up.

Then she just _may_ have given her some advice when she was feeling down after that duel. Whatever Rue made of and did with that advice was up to her. Violet had little else to do with whatever choices she made.

"Sure, sure." Rue waved a hand dismissively. "Well, how about we have a different kind of match? Seeing as we're both starting with zero friends here at Beacon, let's see which of us can actually make a friend first."

"You're on." The words left Violet's mouth before she could stop them. Damnit, she just didn't have it in her to turn down a challenge. Even one as impossible as that.

A fact Rue was well aware of as a cocky grin occupied her features. "Good, I look forward to seeing the results of your efforts when we all meet up in the amphitheatre."

"Likewise." Violet straightened herself out and began to walk, determined to get away before she said something that would put her in deeper trouble.

"Good luck, Arc! You're going to need it." Rue called after her, if for nothing else than to get in the last word.

Violet didn't have a response. If she was actually going to make a friend, she really did need all the luck she could get.

* * *

 **Chapter End**


	2. Lost

Beta: Jefardi

Cover Art: Natzo

* * *

 **Flower**

 _Lost_

* * *

Beacon was far bigger than Violet had given it credit for. The towering buildings and magnificent architecture was something she could probably marvel at for hours, provided she had the time. Which she didn't. It was while gazing up at the beautiful scenery she found herself in that the eldest Arc had no choice but to admit it.

She was lost.

Great, this was just great. She had been in such a hurry to get away from Rue, that she hadn't paid attention at all to where she was going until it was too late. At this rate she was going to miss the headmaster's speech.

Of course, there was always the option of asking for directions. She considered this for a brief moment as she caught sight of a group of upperclassmen, before dismissing the thought. She didn't need anyone's help and that would simply be too embarrassing, having to admit how she got lost in the first place.

"Oh my, oh my. Where have you all led me to now?" Violet's body tensed, legs spinning to bring her around, and hand flying to the hilt of her sword. Standing not even two feet from her, was the owner of the high-pitched voice.

'Make some noise, would you!' Violet had to bite her tongue to keep from shouting this. She seriously hadn't heard this girl approach at all, and a quick glance at her feet explained why.

She had no shoes, skin bare all the way up to her knees, which was the length of her flowery one-piece dress. Orange eyes made contact with bright green, the girl's short pink hair accentuated by what looked like a crown of daisies.

"Aha, I am very sorry, Miss. I did not mean to startle you." The girl tilted her head innocently, bringing both hands up together in front of her chest.

"N-no, you didn't really…" Why was she trying to deny it? No matter how anyone looked at this situation, it was clear that she had been caught completely off-guard. Straightening herself out and taking her hand off Ostrum Tempus, she cleared her throat before starting again. "My name is Violet Arc. I am here for Beacon's initiation exam."

The girl gave two light claps, mouth widening in a bright smile and green eyes practically sparkling. "Wonderful, wonderful. I too, am also a new entrant into the prestigious Beacon Academy of Vale." Her way of speaking was even more eccentric than Violet's own youngest sister, it would seem. "To my people, I am known as Wanda Weigela." She concluded with a short curtsy.

"You're… not from around here, are you?" Violet knew people attended Beacon from all over the world, but she hadn't expected to meet someone quite so unique right off the bat.

"Oooh… a most impressive deduction." She thought Wanda might have said that sarcastically, if not for the overflowing sincerity in her tone. "I am indeed not from Vale, or any of the established Kingdoms for that matter. I hail from a tribe of wandering nomads, who explore the wilds of Anima."

A nomad? Violet had heard stories of people that lived outside of the Kingdom's protection, wandering the continent according to the seasons, somehow navigating around the Grimm. She always assumed they were myths until now. "Well, it's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine." Wanda continued to smile, causing the knot that had formed in Violet's stomach to loosen. This wasn't so bad. It might even be possible she just made a friend with this girl. She couldn't wait to shove that in Rue's face. "Now then, shall we head to the amphitheatre?"

Even better, it looked like she knew where to go too. "Yeah, you know the way?"

"I do not." Violet felt her eye twitch. Wanda, in contrast, showed no concern for their situation, twirling and tilting her head to the sky. "Fortunately for us, the fairies seem to."

"...The… fairies…?" Did she even want to know? Just to be sure she wasn't crazy, Violet looked up where Wanda was. Nothing. Not even a bird, let along something mythical like a fairy.

"Indeed. Come along now, or we will lose them!" Wanda began to skip forward, bare feet noiselessly traversing the concrete.

"..." Violet stared after her silently. Part of her really wished she had just asked for directions when she had the chance. Seeing how that was no longer an option- with a disgruntled sigh, she followed after.

Not that she had any hope them actually making it to the amphitheatre.

* * *

 **Chapter End**


	3. Ozpin's Speech

Beta: Jefardi

Cover Art: Natzo

* * *

 **Flower**

 _Ozpin's Speech_

* * *

Violet couldn't believe it.

They had actually made it to the amphitheatre. The massive room now housed several dozen clamoring students who had all gathered around a small stage set up in the front. It would appear the headmaster had yet to make his appearance so it looked like they had actually made it on time too.

"I assured you that the fairies knew the way, did I not?" Wanda looked proud, making it hard for Violet to doubt that this pink-haired girl had been stringing her along and knew where they were going the whole time. Instead, it appeared she actually believe these so-called "fairies" had led them here.

"Well, well." Not again. Violet turned to see Rue smirking at her from the edge of the assembled students, silver eyes gleaming with sarcastic glee. "I know you hate losing, Arc, but I didn't think you would go and make a friend so fast."

"Isn't it enough that I had to deal with you once today already, Sylvia?" Violet rubbed her forehead, trying to fight off the impeded migraine that would come from talking with her old classmate.

"Normally I would agree, but I'm actually interested in meeting this new girl you've somehow managed to befriend." Rue stepped up to Wanda, placing a hand on either hip as she inspected her from top to bottom… pausing specifically at the bottom. "Where… are your shoes?"

"Shoes? I do not own any." Wanda said this like that wasn't completely insane. Just what kind of life did nomads live that they didn't wear shoes? Weren't they walking all day on the cold, hard earth? Who knew how many different terrains they had to traverse! And she didn't even own shoes for any of that?

Rue looked equally taken aback, perhaps one of the first things her and Violet had ever shared. She fiddled with one of the black bows that held her looped twintails together, before leaning over to Violet close enough to whisper in her ear. "Hey… is she okay?"

"I wish I knew. She followed the 'fairies' to get us here." Rue cocked an eyebrow. "That's the same thing I said."

"But she did not say anything."

"Exactly." Rue and Violet responded in perfect sync. It took both of them several seconds to realize this had happened. They turned to one another, and then promptly looked away, letting out an overlapping grunt of displeasure.

The whole act, Wanda seemed to find greatly amusing as she stifled a giggle with her hand. "I confess myself a little jealous. You two are such excellent friends."

"Friends?" Rue uttered in disbelief.

"With her?" Violet pointed at Rue, just to make absolute sure Wanda was talking about the two of them.

"Why yes." Wanda nodded, looking back and forth between them. With each subsequent turn of the head, her eyes filled slightly more with doubt. "Was I mistaken?"

Neither of them got the chance to tell her just how 'mistaken' she was, before the loud sound of microphone feedback cut across the whole amphitheatre. All three girls turned to the source, the headmaster of Beacon himself standing front and center. Ozpin, hair as white as Rue's, and eyes hidden behind his spectacles silently regarded them all.

This was one of the most powerful men in the world. His words carried with them great weight and he literally had the power to determine the whole rest of their future with a simple command. Violet had never met him before, but she had immense respect for this man. She could only hope to someday have the same influence he held.

"Looking at you now…" Ozpin started slow, speaking methodically. "I see young men and women who are under the impression that they are already students at this Academy. Allow me to assure you now; you are not." Low murmurs broke out as he gave pause to allow these words to sink in. Violet and Rue shared a concerned glance and she even noticed Wanda shift uncomfortably. "You do not become official trainees of Beacon until you have a partner and a team. Once the test begins, your partner will be chosen by the first person you make eye contact with. Your team… will be chosen on the path you take. I wish you all luck."

With that, he turned and walked off stage.

Was that… it?

Violet blinked several times. She suddenly felt stupid for having been so worried about missing his speech if that was all he was going to say. There had to be more to it than that, right? Like, maybe his words had some kind of deeper meaning to them that she just didn't understand.

In the headmaster's place, a bespectacled blonde woman began giving out instructions, but she wasn't really paying attention, still trying to figure out what it was she had missed. Glancing around, she saw most of the others looking forward blankly, just as bewildered as she felt.

"That was most odd." Wanda really had no right to be the one to say that, but at the very least she was correct. Odd was an understatement, really.

"People with power usually are." The bitterness in Rue's tone wasn't lost on anyone within earshot, but not one of them made comment. Most of them too busy still trying to figure out if there really was anything underneath the surface of Ozpin's cryptic words.

The alternative being that there wasn't, and that was far worse. Because if there wasn't, that meant Ozpin was just plain crazy. And no one wanted to be stuck at this school for the next four years if it was run by a guy that was off his rocker.

Too bad they were all stuck here now.

* * *

 **Chapter End**


	4. Sleepover

Beta: Jefardi

Cover Art: Natzo

* * *

 **Flower**

 _Sleepover_

* * *

All the students had been led to the ballroom, where they were expected to sleep as a massive group, boys and girls alike. In a way, it reminded Violet of all the times she and her siblings would bring their sleeping bags into the living room and start creating forts out of the furniture.

This, of course, wouldn't be anything like that. Violet didn't know any of these people and she had lost Wanda and Rue in the crowds. Not that she could say she was particularly upset about that. Dealing with both of them had been… exhausting, to put it lightly. She really hoped whoever she was partnered with would be far less of a chore to handle.

"Mind if I curl up here next to you?" Violet looked up from the sleeping bag she had been assigned to see a dog faunus with dirty blonde hair smiling down at her. Both her eyes were obscured by long bangs and a huge, toothy smile split her face. Like the others, she was already dressed in her pajamas, a simple white button up and fleece pants.

Violet really wished she would've known their first night would've been spent as a big group. She wouldn't have only packed her Pumpkin Pete Onesie if she had known that. Most of the other students snickered behind her back and gave her a wide berth. Which meant there was plenty of room all around her to pick a spot. Yet this faunus girl dropped the same sleeping bag right down next to Violet's.

"Do I know you?" Violet arched an eyebrow suspiciously, checking around to see if Rue was watching, in case this was some kind of prank.

"I would hope not. We've never met before." The faunus was already crouching down next to her and began unrolling her sleeping bag. "The name's Lily."

"...Violet Arc." She introduced herself slowing, still trying to understand what this girl was doing here. Or if she would maybe tell her her last name so she at least had some way to address her. Providing she even had a last name.

"No need to be so on guard. I was just hoping you and I could be friends is all." Lily plopped down on the sleeping bag, sitting cross legged as she turned to her.

"Okay… why me?" Violet sat down on her own assigned bag, making sure Ostum Tempus was securely tied to it.

"You got a good heartbeat." Lily's floppy dog ears perked up for emphasis. Violet knew faunus had good hearing… but that was ridiculous.

"That's it?" That reason wasn't quite enough to convince her, especially with how far fetched it was. There had to be more to it than that. This girl wanted something or had heard something and Violet wasn't going to drop her guard until she knew what it was.

"That's it." Lily shrugged innocently. "You never know how this year's initiation is going to go. I figured I better find a suitable partner before it begins. And from this little talk, I would say you'll do nicely."

"We don't choose our partners, you know?" It wasn't like Ozpin had exactly said a whole bunch, but that had bit had pretty clearly spelled out. Had she even listened to him? Was she even listening to her? It didn't look like it as Lily unzipped her bag and snuggled into it.

"Oh, but I think we do. It's all about who we chose to make eye-contact with, after all." This girl said this with such self-assurance. Like there was no doubt she would be able to find Violet despite knowing nothing about the circumstances they could be pitted against tomorrow.

She was so confident, Violet couldn't help but wonder if maybe she knew something the rest of them didn't. Had she figured out Ozpin's secret message? "...And you're going to chose me right now, all because you like the sound of my heartbeat?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Lily rolled over, hair splaying to the side so Violet could see her brown eyes. Like her voice, there was no doubt in them.

"That's ridiculous." Violet sighed, sliding into her own sleeping bag. Then again, it wasn't any more ridiculous than being thrown together randomly, like Ozpin's method seemed to suggest. Maybe there was a hint of logic to Lily's thinking? No, even if that part made sense, her decision process was way off.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and find out."

"I suppose we will."

How was it that she seemed to keep attracting the attention of such weird people? Oh well, it wasn't like it mattered for now. There was no way Lily was actually going to be able to ensure they ended up as partners… right?

It was this terrifying thought that plagued Violet until she fell asleep.

* * *

 **Chapter End**


	5. The Beginning

Beta: Jefardi

Cover Art: Natzo

* * *

 **Flower**

 _The Beginning_

* * *

She couldn't hear Lily's snores anymore.

That was the first sign that something was wrong. The second was when the sound of wind replaced Lily's loud snoring. The third, would probably have to be the incredible feeling of stiffness, like she was sleeping on rocks. All of these were things, in her sleep-riddled state, Violet was capable of ignoring.

What she couldn't ignore, however, was the smell of smoke.

 _Fire!_

Violet's mind processed that word, causing a surge of energy to bolt through her whole body. She sprung from her assigned sleeping bag, ripping the zipper off and sending it flying, before landing on her feet.

Instinctively her hand reached for Ostrum Tempus, only to find it no longer secured to the sleeping bag where she had left it. Her mind instantly turned to Lily, the faunus girl who had fallen asleep next to her.

Only to find herself completely alone.

Lily was no longer here, nor was anyone else. No, that wasn't right. It wasn't everyone else that had left Beacon, but _her_ who had in fact left. This became increasingly obvious as she took in her surroundings. Tall red walls stretched impossibly high on either side, placing her inside a narrow path barely large enough for two people to walk side by side. Those walls were lined with freshly lit torches, which explained the smoke.

Up above, if she squinted her eyes she could see the faintest light of the moon. So she was definitely outside and it was still night. How much sleep had she gotten? If she had to guess… she would say it was about three in the morning. As for location…

She walked up and brushed her hands against the red rock. There was only one place close enough to Beacon for this formation to make sense: Ruby Canyon. The place was a famous tourist spot located just next to the port of Beacon, famed for its maze-like infrastructure. It was also rumored that once you went inside, it was impossible to find your way back out. Which is why tourists were also forbidden from entering.

Now the question was… why was she here? Was this a prank by jealous students to ensure she wouldn't make it to initiation? Had Lily been in on this? Violet shook the thought loose. She was just being paranoid, having thoughts like that.

It made more sense to assume this _was_ initiation.

Certainly it was unusual, dumping her off in some maze during the middle of the night with no weapon and only her pyjamas, but part of being a Huntress was being prepared for the unexpected. And this was certainly unexpected.

How did they even manage to move them all here without waking them? The only thing that made sense was it had something to do with the sleeping bags they had been assigned. Checking her own sleeping bag again, she found a rolled up note in place of where her favored katana used to be. She unrolled it and held it up to the fire, quickly scanning the contents.

 _Of sleep you are deprive  
_ _Your weapon is lost  
_ _If you hope to survive  
_ _Find a friend at any cost._

 _Do not take time to yawn  
_ _Try not to get stuck  
_ _The limit is Dawn  
_ _Good luck_

A riddle? Really? Oh well, this only confirmed her suspicions that this was in fact part of the test. By itself, the riddle may have been confusing, but if she combined it with the words Ozpin had left them all with earlier, it made sense. Even if the implications were worrying.

Your weapon is lost. That meant hidden somewhere in this maze was Ostrum Tempus and probably everyone else's weapons too. So the objective was to obtain your weapon. Finding a friend obviously referred to making eye-contact with your partner.

If she also took Ozpin's words about "path you choose" that meant there was more than one way out of here. So getting back to Beacon was also a requirement to pass. And depending on which way out you picked, determined your other two teammates.

Perhaps most obvious, the time limit was the sunrise, which she believed was around five thirty right now. Assuming her approximation of time was correct, that gave her a little under two-and-a-half hours to accomplish all this.

No pressure. Although one thing was still bugging her… was it possible that there were Grimm in this maze with them? Why else would they need to _survive_? A deep guttural growl and the sounds of screaming several paths over only confirmed her suspicion.

She didn't have anymore time to waste. Leaving the sleeping bag, Violet crumpled the paper in hand and took off deeper into the Ruby Canyon Maze, with nothing but her onesie.

* * *

 **Chapter End**


	6. Ruby Canyon

Beta: Jefardi

Cover Art: Natzo

* * *

 **Flower**

 _Ruby Canyon_

* * *

This maze was too damn dark.

While the light provided was enough to not trip over herself, it did little in the way of giving Violet foresight. The Ruby canyon lived up to it's reputation, the place a network of twisting corridors and dead ends. What little light the torches gave weren't nearly enough. Often times she didn't know the path she was on led to a dead-end until she practically walked face first into it.

Every time she came up to the red faces of rock, she would curse under her breath. Time wasn't on her side for this test and it was really hard to keep track of such things down here. It was damn near impossible to see the night sky through the smoke created by the torches that lit her way and the towering canyon walls.

Screams of terror and pleas for help echoed all around her, sometimes sounding only a couple feet away and just on the other side of the wall. She had no way of knowing how close they truly were and rushing along the path to try and find them was only going to ensure she got more lost than she already was.

On the other hand, it certainly didn't look like Lily was going to be her partner at this rate. Not that Violet cared, it just went to show the faunus girl didn't know as much as she thought she did. Of course, she would take just about anyone as a partner right now so she could at least pass the first requirement, even Rue.

And she was supposed to solve this crap in just over two hours? Violet was a confident girl and there was little she didn't think herself capable of, but this particular test was looking to make the list. How did Beacon plan to have any entrants like this?

She would take some kind of sign right now that this wasn't just some cruel joke. A bright flash out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, conveniently after she thought this. Violet had to double-take, making sure she hadn't just imagined that. Sure enough, it was still there; some kind of white paw mark etched into the ground just at a four-way conjunction.

Cautiously, Violet edged up to it, ready to spring if it turned out to be some sort of threat. Nothing happened until she was about right on top of it. She looked left and right, but saw no sign of anyone. So she looked back down at the mark.

At that moment, it flared brightly, the light burning into her eyes like a flashbang. Violet let out a shriek and stumbled backwards. Even with her sight cut off, she could feel the wind as it shifted around her. Someone or something leapt at her, determined to knock her down while she was blinded.

They never got close, Violet's Semblance kicking in. While it might not have been capable of reflecting light, a person or monster was no problem. The thing went to strike Violet in the back, something a little smaller than her judging by the change in wind pressure. As the humanoid involuntarily bent and twisted out of the way, Violet spun around and caught whoever it was by the arm.

Feeling the familiar linen of clothes, Violet knew beyond doubt it was a person and not a Grimm she was dealing with now. With a mighty heave, she flipped the assailant over her body and slammed their back into the ground, earning a feminine grunt. "I give, I give!"

Wait a second...

Violet knew that voice!

"No way…" The words escaped her mouth just as her vision began to return. And the very first thing she saw were the brown eyes of the dog faunus, Lily. Despite being sprawled out on the ground and having just attacked her a moment ago, a huge grin took up half her face.

"Hehehe… so we meet again, partner!"

* * *

 **Chapter End**


	7. Partner

Beta: Jefardi

Cover Art: Natzo

* * *

 **Flower**

 _Partner_

* * *

"You mind telling me what that was all about?" Lily had not only found her, but managed to trick her into looking right into her eyes without even knowing it. That whole thing had seemed a little too well planned. Had the faunus girl somehow knew Violet's Semblance beforehand?

"It was a test. And wow, did you pass." Lily cracked her neck and began to roll her shoulders. She had been sprawled out on the floor until a minute ago and Violet had refused to help her to her feet. "I knew you must have been strong, but that's more than anything I could have imagined. Been a long time since someone's got the one up on me." She finished this sentence with a loud laugh, like she wasn't even taking this seriously.

"Is that why you chose me, because I'm strong?" Somehow Violet felt disappointed. Lily may have been odd, but she at least seemed intriguing, able to set such a thoughtful trap and even catch her off guard. But if that was her answer, she was just as mundane as most of the others Violet met. Without even waiting for an answer, she turned and set out once more down the path.

They were still on a time crunch, after all.

"I assure you, it's more than just that. I told you during our first chat, remember?" Lily skipped to keep up, settling in place next to her like it was the most natural thing to do.

Violet thought back to their previous conversation, briefly recalling how Lily said something about how 'she would do nicely.' She didn't think there was anything extraordinary from that talk that would've made Lily so keen to be her partner, however. "Just what is it I did that made you think I would be a good partner?"

Lily made a small hum, dog ears twitching. "Before that, we should turn here instead." She stopped and pointed down a side passage. "The way ahead of us is a dead end." Violet squinted but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see that far ahead.

Still, it was better to take Lily's lead on it. Her hearing had been good enough to find Violet based on nothing more than her heartbeat, so there was little reason to doubt her now. Not to mention as a faunus she could see in the dark.

She nodded for her to lead the way and the two of them continued on. For several minutes, Violet's question went unanswered and she wondered if Lily had forgotten or was simply trying to get out of answering it. Those concerns vanished when she started to talk again. "I grew up in an orphanage, you know?"

"I did not." Violet assumed the question was rhetorical but answered anyways. Lily must have found the fact that she answered funny, because she giggled.

"Well I did. There weren't many other faunus kids at the one I lived at and the discrimination was rough. I was the eldest, so it was my job to try and look after the others. When their food got stolen, I gave them mine. When they got beat up, I had to tend to their wounds."

"I'm no stranger to having to look after younger siblings. I'm the eldest of eight." Violet didn't know why she interrupted, but somehow that felt relevant.

"Then you know what it feels like to want to get stronger, in order to protect them." That was indeed a feeling Violet knew very well. Lily brushed her bangs out of the way, so brown eyes could look right into Violet's. She saw in Lily the same resolve as an eldest sibling that she felt.

"An old, retired Hunter trained me, after I begged him for weeks. He lived on the outskirts of town. His style was… well, pretty unique. You'll see when we get my weapon. Anyways, he also taught me how to pick out good friends. And I think you, Violet, are a good friend."

"None of what you told me explains why you think that." How could she possibly be a good friend, having never had a single one her whole life?

Lily simply smiled like the answer was obvious.

They turned another corner when her partner stopped, dog ears twitching and perpetual smile slipping into a frown. "What is it?" Violet couldn't hear anything, aside from the typical Grimm growls and occasional screams of students, which had unfortunately already just become background noise to her.

"Something's coming." Lily's head whirling around to look behind them. Even to Violet and her poor night vision, she could tell it was just a wall. There was nothing coming at them from that direction.

Then she felt it, the low trembling in the earth. Something was stomping hard and whatever it was, it was getting closer to them by the second. She didn't have to wait long to know what. With a mighty crash, the wall in front of them blasted apart.

Without thinking, Violet dove in front of her partner. Her Semblance easily deflected all the raining debris, twisting it around the two of them. The hunks of wall clattered to the floor with a loud racket and a smokescreen of dust occupied what had once been solid rock. From the cloud stepped a giant, bull-like Grimm. Unlike normal bulls, this one was bipedal. Standing at full height, Violet was maybe half of it, if that. The size of its arms alone were easily as thick as she was and it's torso was ripped with muscles.

" _Oooooh….!"_ It let out a low, deep growl as beady red eyes locked in on the two girls, tilting its horned head down.

"Minotaur." Lily whispered its name from just behind Violet, leaning over her shoulder to get a better look. "I uhh… don't suppose we can take it without our weapons?"

"I seriously doubt it." This Grimm was far too big for Violet to handle with her bare hands and her Semblance would only get her so far.

"So then, run?" No sooner did Lily ask that and the ground thundered again as the Minotaur charged them.

"Run." Violet agreed, the two of them sprinting before the word even left her mouth.

As they fled, their screams joined the chorus of others throughout Ruby Canyon.

* * *

 **Chapter End**


	8. Minotaur (Part I)

Beta: Jefardi

Cover Art: Natzo

* * *

 **Flower**

 _Minotaur (Part I)_

* * *

"Left! Turn left!" Lily shouted just a split second before they passed the next passage up.

As if of one mind, Violet and her partner dove down the passageway. Had they been a second slower, they would've been either trampled or speared by the Minotaur that gave chase. With a loud crash that shook the earth, they heard the giant Grimm careen into a wall. " _Oooooh!"_ And it did not sound happy.

The two girls were on their feet and running again before they even had time to look back. If the thundering footsteps were any indication, it was already behind them again. The torches lining the walls shifted and were nearly snuffed out as the girls raced by. Only to be knocked over completely when the Minotaur passed.

That thing was massive, barely big enough to fit inside these narrow passages. Which was actually somewhat working in their favor. Its bulk in a confined spaced was slowing it down. Whereas Violet and Lily had the added boon of adrenaline and fear pushing them forward.

"Right!" And with every turn they took, it succeeded in placing them a step ahead of the Minotaur. Not that it lasted for long before Violet could feel its moist, hot breath on her back again.

"Do you know where we're going?" Violet didn't want to spare the breath on words, needing every gasp she could get just to run. However, they really needed their weapons right about now. And she was following Lily entirely on faith here.

"I really hope so!" Not that Lily's words did much in the way to comfort her. They were better than nothing, and as they turned another corner Violet felt a glimmer of hope.

Just in front of them was an opening. The narrow pathways gave way to what looked like a massive, circular room. One that was well lit by the torches. And located in the center of that room was a myriad of different weapons.

" _Ooooh!"_ Too bad that room was still a solid several hundred feet away and the Minotaur was about right on top of them. With a final burst of speed, the two girls sprinted down the last leg of the path. Each thundering step of the minotaur bringing it one step closer to spearing them.

Just seconds away from being turned into a Grimm shishkabob, they exited the pathway. Violet dove right and Lily left. The Minotaur charged past them both. It skid to a stop, hooves digging into the earth and spraying chunks of earth everywhere.

Red eyes turned and flicked back and forth between the two girls, deciding which one to go for. It was also between them on their weapons now, which meant one of them was going to have to distract it.

"Lily, get your weapon! I'll hold it off!" Violet didn't know anything about Lily's fighting style, but she had to believe that she could last longer against this Grimm unarmed than her partner would.

Without waiting for a response, she charged the Minotaur head on with a loud battle cry. That was all the prompting the Grimm needed to turn on her, kicking up dirt and rocks when it charged back.

At the last possible second, Violet stopped hard in her tracks. Pooling all her Aura into her Semblance, she prepared for the Grimm's attack. The massive arm of the Minotaur came down in a powerful punch. The very air around Violet pushed down on her from the pressure the monster exerted. All of that curved out of the way at the last second, causing it to strike the ground next to where Violet was standing.

The very earth shook and Violet's vision blurred out of focus, the pseudo-earthquake throwing her several feet upwards. The world seemed to spin and then came to a sudden standstill. It was only several seconds later that she realized her cheek was pressed against the dirt.

 _"Oooooh!"_ The Grimm wasn't intelligent enough to know what happened. All it could see was that it had missed. Which meant it was just going to try again, this time bringing down its thick horns down in a headbutt.

Violet didn't have time to stand. The only thing she could do was pool more Aura into her misdirection ability, hoping it would continue to keep her alive. Like before, the attack bent out of the way, those horns burying into the ground and causing it to shake.

Violet was once again tossed upwards along with more broken slabs of rock. Two of them colliding into one another. As one ricocheted off the other, it bypassed Violet's Semblance. She realized too late something had found its way past her Semblance's weak point.

Not able to take control of her body that was still in the middle of being flung around like a ragdoll, she was helpless to do anything as the baseball sized rock clocked her in the head.

The next thing she saw was all-encompassing darkness.

* * *

 **Chapter End**


	9. Minotaur (Part II)

Beta: Jefardi

Cover Art: Natzo

* * *

 **Flower**

 _Minotaur (Part II)_

* * *

For the second time in the past hour, Violet was jolted awake by her sense of smell.

Before it had been her addled mind mistaking the scent of smoke for the building being on fire. This time, she had no idea what to associate this smell with. It was like someone had taken all of her younger siblings dirty clothes, chucked a couple stink-bombs at them, and then allowed those clothes to fester for the past couple years in a damp corner of her bedroom.

Needless to say, it woke her up pretty instantaneously. Although, "waking up" was probably not the right term to use. Violet's orange eyes stared into a deep, angry red abyss. A sense of vertigo overtook and her stomach lurched, threatening to rebel against her as she fell into that eerie, terrible light.

Only she wasn't falling at all. It took Violet's mind several additional seconds to process that she was lying down, cheek once again buried in the dirt. The red abyss she was staring into were the eyes of the Minotaur, it's thick dark fur blotting out all other color.

Everything came rushing back to her at once and she remembered the rock flying at her. It must have knocked her out cold, if only for a moment, and that foul smell that snapped her back into reality was the Grimm's corpse-rotten breath.

Stumbling back to her knees, her head gave a sudden throb. She grit her teeth and refused to holler out in pain, not willing to distract Lily. Blood dribbled down the left side of her face from some cut she couldn't see, some of the red liquid leaking into one eye.

Tilting her head up, Violet's remaining orange eye looked back into the Grimm's red ones. The two of them were mere inches apart now. The minotaur let out several angry grunts, trying to pull its buried horns free from the ground. Which was probably the only reason it hadn't attempted to attack her again.

With an ear-shattering shearing, those horns pulled free. The minotaur rose up to it's full height where it towered over her kneeling form. Violet's gaze didn't waver at all, staring up at the Grimm without showing even an ounce of fear.

She wasn't even sure her Semblance would save her again, but she wouldn't give this creature the satisfaction of feeling any terror.

" _Oooo-"_ The Grimm startled to roar again, only for a bright flash and an explosion to cut it off. Heat rolled over them both and Violet was forced to squint past it. Something heavy hit the ground and she dove out of the way on instinct. It saved her life, the Minotaur collapsing where she had just been.

Past the light of the explosion, she caught sight of a white orb flying through the air. It was still high, easily fifteen feet up. That didn't stop Lily from somehow miraculously appearing in front of it, having managed to kick herself up that high with nothing but her own strength. "Ha!" Lily gave a cry of exertion as she kicked the ball, launching it back at the Minotaur. It made contact and another explosion sent the rising Grimm crashing back to its knees.

"Get your sword!" Lily landed on the ground, already preparing to leap back in the air and send the sphere back in another volley.

Violet didn't need to be told twice. She may have been concerned about if Lily could hold her own before, but there was no such doubt left after witnessing that display. Lily was strong, more so than she had originally given her credit for.

She dashed to the unusual circular rock in the center. The elevated surface was almost like a table and scattered across it were numerous other weapons. In her search, she noticed that Rue's shotgun was already missing, meaning she must have already passed by here. Disregarding the thought for later, she continued the search for Ostrum Tempus.

Once she had her time-altering weapon, she would make that Grimm sorry for trouncing her like before. That was, assuming Lily didn't defeat it first. Finally, she noticed the purple sheath and her fingers latched around the katana. Unfurling the string, she hefted the katana over her left shoulder and let it rest against her back.

Feeling the familiar weight of it there brought a strange comfort and made her feel complete. Perhaps it wasn't so strange. She had inherited the weapon when she was five, proving compatible with it and its power. It was as much a part of her as her arms and legs were.

She didn't dare to take more than a moment to relish in the familiar comfort, turning back to the battle happening between her partner and monster. Just in time to witness another powerful explosion ripple through the air.

One that the Minotaur shrugged off. It had gotten wise to Lily's tactic, proving that even Grimm could learn if you gave them enough time. The giant bipedal beast had smacked Lily's orb to the side, enduring the explosion and damage to its fist to veer the soccer-ball sized weapon off course.

Several thick, furry fingers hit the ground with audible slops, the burnt appendages of the Grimm's now malformed hand. Blood rained down like a waterfall from the gushing wound, but if anything it only looked to make the Grimm more mad.

" _Oooooooh!"_ It charged Lily, who was left completely defenseless without the weapon rebounding back to her. Panicked brown eyes spun back to Violet, the dirty blonde hair whipping in the wind to expose them. When she saw how far apart they still were, her rigid stance went lax, as if giving up hope.

The Grimm was far closer to Lily than Violet was. Not only that, but it was bigger and faster than she. No matter how someone looked at this situation, Violet would never make it in time to save her partner.

At least, she wouldn't have been able to without her sword.

* * *

 **Chapter End**


	10. Minotaur (Part III)

Beta: Jefardi

Cover Art: Natzo

* * *

 **Flower**

 _Minotaur (Part III)_

* * *

Time slowed to a crawl.

That wasn't meant in a metaphorical sense, such as when a surge of adrenaline allows one's brain to function and react faster than ordinarily possible. No, time itself actually bent to Violet's will and allowed her to see and move in a state of hyper-speed. Or rather, it bent to her sword's will.

The ability had several limitations. For starters, it only worked if Violet was in the act of drawing Ostrum Tempus from its sheath. If she stopped drawing the blade or unsheathed it completely, her perception of time would return to normal.

So even with time on your side, it still felt like an incredibly short span that the ability lasted and she could only reactivate it again after the blade had been completely returned to its sheath. If she had to do that, it would be too late to save her partner.

The minotaur was still charging, one hoofed foot slamming into the ground, the other still in the air. In slow-motion, the creature's movements looked robotic. The blood that flew from its mangled fist arced in the air and almost appeared to hang suspended. The horns on its head were bent and pointed to skewer the dog faunus, who was ducked in a defensive crouch.

Violet took all this in as she sprinted past her partner and across the gap between herself and the Minotaur. Just before reaching it, she jumped in the air and finished drawing the katana. While she couldn't jump as high as Lily, thanks to its charge, the Grimm was ducked low enough for her to reach its neck.

Time reverted to normal.

It was too late for the Minotaur to react, not even knowing she was there. Ostrum Tempus carved into its neck with sickening efficiency. She and the Grimm passed by one another. Tucking into a ball, she hit the ground in a roll that ended in a poised crouch.

She didn't even bother to turn around, knowing she had bested the creature with that one attack when it hit the ground with powerful thud. Flicking her wrist, she splashed the blood off her katana and then returned it to the sheath.

The Minotaur let out a choked gurgle, lungs filling with its own blood. Its arms and legs spasmed helplessly, almost looking like it was trying to reach out to them for help, or maybe even just one last ditch attempt to take them with it. Only after it ceased all movement did it begin to disintegrate, as all slain Grimm did.

"Not bad, not bad!" Lily grinned brightly as she walked around the side of the vanishing creature. The fear previously on her face was gone without a trace, but Violet could still clearly remember it. "I would say you and I make a pretty good team, wouldn't you?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself. That was just one battle." Violet didn't return Lily's smile until after she had walked past her. It was only then that she gave a satisfied smirk. And how could she not? This test which had once seemed impossible, was now more than halfway done.

"Yeah, yeah. But I mean, that was a pretty neat trick you pulled off there. Some kind of time altering Dust?" Lily skipped around to the side so Violet had to quickly wipe the smirk from her face, replacing it with an annoyed frown.

"Something like that." She glanced to where Lily's weapon had landed and nodded to it. "What about your weapon? You said your fighting style was unique, but that wasn't anything like what I was expecting."

"Nifty, huh?" Lily hunched over the orb and began bouncing it around with her knees and elbows. "Called Fetch. Loaded with fire dust that explodes when it strikes something, provided you know how to properly handle it." Which explained at least some of how Lily was able to strike it without blowing herself up.

Even ignoring that, Lily had demonstrating some amazing talent. Speaking in physical attributes alone, Violet could never hope to match her partner in any of them. Then her ability to anticipate and move to where the orb would go next must have taken years to perfect, at least a decade.

"I underestimated you. I apologize." Violet inclined her head slightly. She regret saying anything almost immediately because when she looked back up Lily had a huge, shit-eating grin on her face.

"What was that, partner? I didn't quite catch that." She caught Fetch and placed it in the nook of her elbow and armpit before leaning forward and flipping up one of her floppy dog ears.

"Nothing. Let's just go already." She quickly began to stroll away, trying to put as much distance between them as possible.

"Aww… don't be that way!" Lily skipped after, but Violet was already focusing on their next task.

This test may have been close to over, but there was still plenty of time to fail.

* * *

 **Chapter End**


	11. The Next Step

Beta: Jefardi

Cover Art: Natzo

* * *

 **Flower**

 _The Next Step_

* * *

Navigating the maze was much easier after finding their weapons.

This was mostly because it no longer seemed like a maze. The room where they had fought the Minotaur had been close to the Beacon Cliffs and by heading towards them, they came to two trails that ascended those cliffs; one going left, the other right.

Violet reluctantly left the choice to Lily, but only on account as her sense of direction hadn't led them astray yet. The faunus girl chose the left path. These pathways weren't as wide as the maze, big enough for only one person to go forward at a time so Violet took point, in case her Semblance could be used to divert any kind of unseen attack.

After only a few minutes of walking, their path once again forked into two. And once again, Lily decided to point them up the left one. Twice more, their paths forked and both times Lily had them stay the course, going further left each time.

Before Violet realized it, they were well over the top of Ruby Canyon and nearly to the top of the cliffs. The scene could have been breath-taking, if there had been any kind of sunlight to see it. The fact that she was able to discern their height at all, meant they were getting closer to their time limit. So with a bit more haste in her step, the two girls renewed the arduous climb upwards and back to Beacon.

It was only when they reached the top of the cliff that they ran into other students.

Orange eyes met silver, causing Violet and Rue to let out overlapping groans before uttering the same words in perfect mimicry of one another. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Ah, how wonderful. I told you the fairies would find us teammates we would get along with." Wanda clasped her hands together and smiled brightly at the two new arrivals.

"Just great." Rue mumbled under her breath. "First I'm partnered with a lunatic and now a girl that thinks onesies are still in style."

"I'll have you know these were a gift from my younger brother!" Violet took a threatening step forward, cheeks burning red with embarrassment. "Besides, I don't wanna hear that from a girl who barely wears anything to sleep at all." She gestured to Rue's sleep attire, or lack thereof; only wearing a short tank top that exposed her midriff and leggings so short they barely covered her hips. Yet for some reason her white hair was still tied into its two braided loops.

"Glad to meet you friends of Violet." Lily jumped in between them before it could escalate, hand extended. "Name's Lily."

Wait a second-

"Lily…" Violet narrowed her eyes. "did you know Sylvia and Weigela were this way?" It made sense if she thought about it. Lily must have heard them and even possibly knew they were the people she had been talking with yesterday. Her partner didn't say anything, which was all the response she needed.

"Oh, so you call her by her first name already?" Rue of course noticed the most inane facts.

"She doesn't have a last name." At least not one that Violet knew or she would definitely be calling her by it.

"It is most pleasant to make your acquaintance, Miss Lily." Wanda ignored their side remarks all together, performing a short curtsey with her nightgown.

"Hey there, liking the crown of flowers." Lily stepped up to the pink-haired girl, leaning forward to take a whiff of the daisies on her head. All the while very deliberately avoiding Violet's burning glare.

Introductions aside…

"What are you two even still doing here?" There was nothing to be done about it now. Violet hadn't expected to run into anyone, considering they were running out of time, but it seemed Rue and Wanda had stopped for some reason.

"Only trying to figure out how to cross _that_." Rue hiked a thumb over her shoulder and Violet immediately saw what she was talking about. Between them and Beacon's grounds was a wide chasm. She didn't even have to walk up to the edge to know there was no chance of being able to see the bottom.

Jumping across didn't look to be an option, either. She doubted even Lily would be capable of making that leap and the fact that Rue hadn't crossed it yet met the distance was too far for her Semblance. Was it possible that they had chosen the wrong path?

If they had, it was too late to turn back. Violet glanced towards the path they had come from. The skyline behind them was beginning to turn purple with hints of orange, signaling the start of dawn. The only choice for them now was forward, unless they resigned to just give up.

"It looks like there's some kind of pathway a little ways to our right." Lily had pulled her bangs up so she could see unhindered and was scanning the whole length of the chasm. She didn't say anything further, so it looked like what she had just saw previously was their only path.

"I guess that's where we'll go." Violet was already walking, those words coming out as more of a sigh. With no other choice, the rest followed her. Which she supposed meant that from this point on, they were officially a team.

Whether she liked it or not.

* * *

 **Chapter End**


	12. Spider's Web

Beta: Jefardi

Cover Art: Natzo

* * *

 **Flower**

 _Spider's Web_

* * *

"These are…" Violet bent down, glancing over the edge of the cliff and to the abyss beneath them. Her fingers gently pressed down on a string like substance connecting to the cliff face and stretching across

"...looks like a web." Rue finished, silver eyes darting across the way. Violet followed her gaze and saw that "web" described it quite accurately. Although it would have taken a very big spider to be able to create one this size. A spider Violet really hoped they didn't run into.

"The fairies are telling me they have a bad feeling about this." She was just going to start ignoring Wanda. It wasn't like you need faeries to know this was a bad idea. Anyone with half a brain could figure that out.

"Unless someone has a better one, we have to cross it." Lily jumped ahead, landing nimbly on one of the numerous threads. It was only big enough for them to walk with one foot in front of the other and it bent under the faunus' weight.

Several moments of silence passed that statement and no one offered a counter. Violet imagined she could have thought of a better way if they had the time, but the brightening sky only seemed to rush them along, leaving them little in the way of choices.

"We should each pick a different thread to use, but stay close." Violet took the one closest to her partner, Wanda one over from her, and then Rue took the furthest thread.

One foot in front of the other, the four of them continued forward at the same pace. Violet didn't want to admit it, but this might have been one of the scariest things she had ever done. She knew they always said not to look down, and she could see why. The seemingly bottomless abyss stared back up at her, giving her a sense of vertigo. At the same time, she needed to keep an eye on her feet in case she misstepped, creating an unfortunate predicament.

"This reminds me of a game we used to play as children." Despite Wanda's earlier misgivings, she sounded to be having a simpler time taking her mind off the fear of falling then Violet was capable of.

"You nomads had interesting ideas for pastimes, that's for sure." Rue in contrast, had a noticeable tremble in her voice. "Almost makes me wonder why you even left." Not that it stopped her from being any less sarcastic.

"I decided that I wished to see the world for myself." Of course, that sarcasm flew clear over Wanda's head. "My people have little communication with the kingdoms and care even less about whether they stand or fall." Well, that was kind of twisted, a thought their pink-haired teammate seemed to share. "I do not agree with this way of thinking. I am hoping that by becoming a Huntress for the kingdoms, I may one day find a way to bring our two people together."

Violet blinked several times, caught off guard by Wanda's sudden revelation. Once again, it would seem that she had misjudged another one of her teammates. "That's… certainly not the type of reason I expected from a girl that takes directions from fairies." Rue took the words right out of her mouth.

"Well, we probably should've listened to those fairies earlier." Lily and Violet hadn't hung out much, but she recognized that tone from the time they ran into the Minotaur. Glancing at her partner, she saw the faunus ears on her head twitching, reacting to some sound the rest of them couldn't yet hear.

Just because she couldn't hear it, didn't mean she couldn't feel the new threat's approach. The strings beneath them began shaking violently, threatening to throw the four of them off. Which likely wouldn't be much of a challenge, considering their precarious position on them already.

"That is one big spider…" Rue deadpanned and Violet turned see exactly that charging across the web and coming right at them. True to her earlier fears, the creature that had spun the web they were now traversing was massive, dwarfing that Minotaur they ran into earlier. Eight spindly legs navigated the web with practiced ease and a dozen beady red eyes glared at them. The pincers around its mouth snapped hungrily, oozing some kind of foamy substance with each snap.

"I believe that is what they refer to as a Terrorantula." Wanda again, appeared nonchalant despite having a Grimm charging right at them. Either this girl did not have a concept of fear or she was too airheaded to know when it was a proper time to feel it.

"Well, running didn't exactly pan out for us last time so I guess this time we'll skip right to the part where we fight?" Lily crouched low balancing the orb, Fetch, on her shoulder. Of the four girls, she looked to be having the easiest time maintaining her balance on the vibrating strings.

In response to her words, Wanda pulled out a metallic flute and Rue readied her double-barreled shotgun. Violet still had a bad feeling about this, but like it or not, her team was preparing for battle so…

"Fight it is."

* * *

 **Chapter End**


	13. Terrorantula

Beta: Jefardi

Cover Art: Natzo

* * *

 **Flower**

 _Terrorantula_

* * *

Several things happened all at once.

The Terrorantula that was charging them spit some kind of burning glob in their direction, the green acid reflecting off the peeking light from the horizon.

The four girls it was intended for scattered. Violet had little doubt that the glob would have incinerated them if it had actually made contact, the angry hissing of the acidic liquid whistling over her ears. Fortunately, it had no effect on the spider Grimm's own webbing where it splashed uselessly.

Lily had launched high into the air, where she performed a full three-sixty degree spin, winding up the ball in her hand. She released the weapon, Fetch, with incredible throwing power and the soccer-ball sized orb rocketed at the Spider Grimm.

Rue simply vanished from the spot she had been standing in, appearing in a different location about fifteen yards closer to the expanse they were heading towards. The barrells of her shotgun were bent downwards and she slipped in two red shells. In one fluid motion, she clicked the barrels shut, pointed, and shot. With a loud bang and a bright flash, two explosive rounds flew out from the twin barrels.

Wanda… well, Violet didn't even know how to describe what happened around her. A dozen luminsicent green creatures had appeared, buzzing in the air around the pink-haired girl like angry wasps. They appeared vaguely human-shaped, ignoring the cone-tipped heads, fluttering wings on their back, and the fact they were no bigger than a human hand. Yet at the same time they felt so far removed from humanity that Violet felt a small shiver run down her spine looking at them.

A melodic tune came from the tip of the flute Wanda held to her lips, its melody and rhythm unfit for adrenaline charged battle they were having. The fairies, as Violet could only call them, reacted to the music. Blue dust blew from the flute like smoke where it sparkled. The small creatures flew through it, changing from green to an icy blue as they did.

Their very nature transformed, the dozen fairies kamikazed the Terrorantula. Each one struck in a different place, each time leaving a chunk of ice that weighed the Grimm down and binding it in place.

" _Hsss-_ "" The spider was in the process of letting out an irritable screech when the exploding shells of Rue's shotgun hit it. A cone of fire erupted from the point of impact, staggering the creature. It didn't have a chance to recover before Fetch struck it over the top, another wave of heat exploding from the contact.

The web they were on buckled and bent, the explosion pushing the Terrorantula on them. Several of its eight spindly legs lost their footing and the full weight of the monster came pressing down, sending a rippling shockwave across every string. Violet's orange eyes could barely trace that tremor as it raced towards her, jumping over it at just the last possible second.

Lily was still in the air and managed to avoid it altogether, catching the orb as it bounced back to her. Rue and Wanda weren't as lucky, the shockwave bucking both of them off the web and into the air.

Violet cursed under her breath and began to draw her sword. Time slowed to a crawl, the power of her katana taking immediate effect. She raced to Wanda's prone, airborne form and just as she finished drawing the blade, reached her. She caught the pink-haired girl by the waist, looping an arm around her awkwardly, the other still holding her sword.

The shift in weight was nearly enough to throw Violet over the side of the string she was still running along. "Much appreciated, Miss Violet." Wanda looked up and backwards at her savior and Violet only knew this because of her peripherals, her attention otherwise occupied. Rue had just barely managed to catch the web and was now hanging precariously by one hand, legs dangling into the abyss below.

Lily landed on the other side of the cliff, safely on Beacon's grounds. "Sorry, Weigela. This isn't going to be fun." Violet didn't wait for her to respond, tensing her arm and filling it with Aura. It was awkward, trying to throw someone you were carrying underarm and she was almost afraid she would drop her by just trying or perhaps the precarious balance she had would make her missaim.

Wanda let out a startled yelp as Violet hurled her into the air, none of her previous fears coming to fruition. That yelp got Lily's undivided attention and the dog faunus dropped Fetch as she scrambled to catch her flying teammate.

 _Thud_

"Gah!" Lily managed to catch her, but in the process took an awkward step and Violet only just caught a slight glimpse as one of her ankles bent unnaturally. She collapsed down to her knees, still managing to hold onto Wanda, but she wouldn't be running to help in the next couple seconds.

 _Snap_

At the same time, the web they had been fighting on finally gave way, several strands at once ripping apart, causing a chain reaction as the whole webbing came undone. " _Hssssss!_ " The Terrorantula let out another angry screech, attempting to scramble back up but its efforts only succeeded in unwinding their footing faster.

The entire web sunk several feet. Violet quickened her pace with reckless abandon, outright sprinting for Rue in an effort to get to her in time. If she missed a single string she would die, but if she didn't move quick enough she was dead anyways. Violet considered trying to sheath her blade while running but her balance was tedious enough as it was and it was taking all her concentration just to maintain that. She wasn't going to be able to rely on her katana's power this time.

"Sylvia!" Violet outstretched her hand, clearing the last couple bounds to her remaining teammate. At that same moment, the last thread came loose and the whole web began to fall. Swinging herself like a pendulum, Rue threw herself up, free hand reaching for Violet's.

Their fingers grazed one another and for a second, Violet didn't think she would reach. Leaning forward just enough she pulled Rue's hand into her grasp. Orange eyes met silver and in that brief moment of connection, Rue could see Violet's intention.

"Arc! Don't you do it-" It was too late. Violet was already winding up and with all the strength she had threw Rue towards their other two teammates.

Then she began her fall into the abyss below.

* * *

 **Chapter End**


	14. Fall

Beta: Jefardi

Cover Art: Natzo

* * *

 **Flower**

 _Fall_

* * *

Well shit.

Violet had this thought far more calmly and dryly than she had any business to, considering the situation. Would it kill her to panic a little? Not that it mattered, as she was pretty much guaranteed to die anyways.

" _Hsssss!_ " Her and the Terrorantula she was plummeting into the darkness with. The giant creature of Grimm was shrieking terribly, as if upset that she had the audacity to forgot about it. That or it was just pissed that they broke its web while it was on it. Either way, they were both pretty screwed now.

That didn't mean the damn thing wasn't going to try and finish her off first anyways. The flailing spider spun its body around, doing complete flips several times in its attempt to right itself out. Dozens of angry red eyes blurred by, the only real light in the encroaching darkness beneath her.

Above, the sky was starting to turn shades of orange and pink as dawn finally began to break. Too bad none of that light was able to reach them down here. The time limit was about up and Violet never had made it to the goal, falling just short of it. Literally.

The spinning red lights lurched to a violent stop and with an ear-grating noise the Terrorantula slid to a halt. It had been several yards lower than Violet but had been falling faster. With the sudden stop, she was now the one gaining on it. A fact the Grimm took full advantage of.

Violet couldn't see the attack but she heard the spider suck in and then spit. The hissing sound of an acidic ball whistling right at her was the only other warning she got. She never even saw the glob in the darkness, only knowing her Semblance kicked in and misdirected the attack around her as she heard it whiz by. With a loud splash it hit the side of the wall and melted the rock face. She didn't want to consider what would have happened had that been _her_ face, but if she had to guess, she would say the pain would at least be over quick.

Now she only had about another second before she collided head-first into the very source of that vile attack. Not having many options and with no time to think of a better plan, she stuck with the tried and true: Stick it with the pointy end and hope for the best.

She flipped herself over, bringing her still drawn sword to point straight down and struck at the only thing she could see. With a wet slick, the tip of the katana buried into one of a dozen eyes. _"Hsssssssss!"_ And the Terrorantula did not enjoy that one bit.

It screamed and flailed, trying to debunk the eldest Arc sibling who could only hold onto the hilt of her sword for dear life. Her legs dangled helplessly into the darkness below, occasionally slapping against the top of the Grimm's oversized head. Vaguely, amidst all the disorientation and lack of decent light, she was able to make out the legs of the Terrorantula. The spindly limbs were partially buried into the wall, leaving a distinct trail where it had skid across.

Maybe there was a chance she could survive this yet? She'd managed the impossible once already by stopping her fall without breaking anything. All she had to do was get to this thing's legs, chop them down, plummet the Grimm the remaining way to its death, and then bury her blade into the wall to stop her own descent. Easy.

After that… well, she didn't know. One step at a time, she supposed. Too bad she never even got to make it to the first step. The Spider-Grimm suddenly lurched forward, jumping a ways up the wall where it then clung, positioning itself a little closer towards the top. The upward momentum alone nearly dislocated both Violet's shoulders, the wind pressure bearing down on her with unimaginable strength.

When it landed, however, all that energy was reversed and with a sickening pop, Violet's katana was dislodged from the eye of the Grimm as she flew several feet up into the air. Only a couple seconds later and gravity took back over, sending her once again plummeting to her death.

Well shit, she thought for the second time in what was only about a minute. This time there wasn't a malicious Grimm to catch her fall either. In other words, it wasn't looking too good. Turning her gaze upwards once again, she stared into the skyline above, as if to reject the darkness she was about to disappear into.

She had always been really bad at giving up. Even now her brain was whirling for some kind of possibility, some option she had overlooked. There had to be something, there just had to be.

"Arc! Grab my hand, dammit!" She gave a start at the unexpected voice, so lost in trying to find a way out of this situation, she didn't even notice Rue until she was right on top of her. The silver-eyed girl had one hand extended out, the two of them falling side by side.

It was a strange feeling that filled Violet's chest as she looked at that outstretched hand. Her and Rue had never gotten along. The two of them always fought and competed at just about every task imaginable while at Signal. In her greatest moment of need, however, Rue had dove off the side of a cliff in order to catch her.

With a loud clap, she took that hand.

Rue smirked. "Don't let go this time."

"I won't." Violet promised.

The wall above them creaked as the Terrorantula began to move, somehow sensing that they had some plan to escape. _"Hsssss!"_ It let out another infuriated cry, diving off that wall and right for them.

Its massive body blocked out the light of the morning sky, pitching them into pure darkness… and cutting off their only means of escape.

* * *

 **Chapter End**


	15. Dawn

Beta: Jefardi

Cover Art: Natzo

* * *

 **Flower**

 _Dawn_

* * *

Putting her faith in other people not family was never a strong suit for Violet.

Not that she exactly had much choice right now. The Terrorantula was closing in from above, somewhere below was a very hard rock floor, and the only thing that could save her was Rue's special ability.

"Don't throw up on me, Vomit Girl." That was all the warning her white-haired teammate gave before activating her Semblance. With one silver eye squeezed tight, the other was looking into the small pocket of light available to them.

Then the whole of reality blinked out of existence. A split second later, it reopened. And their very location in space changed. They warped a dozen yards up, the instantaneous transportation causing Violet's stomach to rebel violently. The reaction was far worse than even her motion sickness and she fought hard to keep the contents of her stomach on the inside.

It was only because she was trying not to throw up that she didn't have a comeback to Rue's sarcastic quip. It was also why she didn't bother to point out that it hadn't done them much good. Sure, they had made it past the gargantuan Spider-Grimm (who was not very happy now that it realized they juked it, by the way), but they were also still a considerable ways short of the cliff top.

It crossed Violet's mind for a second that Rue intended to throw her just as she had done not even a minute ago. Only to feel a sudden sense of weightlessness and a warm sensation under them. A soft green glow rose up from the darkness and Violet looked down to see several dozen of Wanda's "fairies" levitating beneath them, holding the two girls aloft.

"I can't believe they're real either." Rue said this somewhere between a laugh and a scoff. Looking back up, Violet saw Wanda peering over the ledge, supporting Lily by the shoulder and one palm held out to maintain the fairies' existence. With agonizing slowness, the two girls were lifted to the top.

They rode the next few moments in silence, the only noise coming from the Terrorantula which had once again managed to latch itself to the wall. It leapt up, trying to close the distance between them but there was no way for it to keep up. The only visible sign of it's approach were the terrible, angry, red eyes glaring through the darkness.

They were going to have to fight it still. Even if they started running the moment they hit the top, it would catch up to them long before they made it to Beacon. Even so, neither of them bothered to talk about it. For now, it was just easier to be thankful they had survived the first round against it.

"Thank you." Violet finally said.

"This wouldn't have been necessary if you didn't try to go all martyr on me in the first place, moron." Rue refused to look at her and the eldest Arc sibling really couldn't bring herself to blame her. She had reacted the only way she knew how at the time. Her gut had led her to just throw Rue, get her to safety despite her ability to be able to save them both.

"I know." Violet didn't apologize.

What she had done wasn't an act of logical thought, it was just her base instinct. She didn't trust anyone, never had. So against all reason and common sense, she had tossed Rue aside, literally, in the face of otherwise certain death. All because it was easier for her to do that and try to deal with the problem herself, rather than rely on another.

That was just who she was. No wonder her Semblance just deflected everything that tried to get close to her. She did the same thing with every relationship she ever started to have.

"I'm here because of you, you know?" Rue still refused to look at her, just staring up at the sky instead. "It doesn't mean that I like you. It just means… you're the only connection that I have. Everyone else abandoned me. My mom, my so-called _friends_. So you can't… you can't just go and get yourself killed. Not until I finally prove that I'm better than you."

Violet blinked. She still didn't think there had been anything special about the way they interacted. In the end, she only had treated Rue the same way she treated everyone; with weariness and distrust. "All I did was the same thing I always do."

"Sometimes that's all someone needs." She never got to ask her what she meant by that. The two reached the top where both their partners were waiting.

"She's not the only connection you have anymore." Lily said in Violet's place, huge grin and faunus ears twitching as if to remind them both about how good her hearing was. "You've got me and you got your partner now." She reached forward with one hand, leaning on Wanda for support with the other.

With a deep blush, the former heiress accepted the hand and stepped off the floating green fairies. The owner of those fairies smiled brightly at them. "I am most glad to see you both unharmed. I did not have any friends before coming here and was worried I would not be able to fit in before conversing with the two of you."

"Right…" Violet didn't have the heart to tell Wanda that she wasn't exactly doing a great job at the fitting in thing. Which seemed to be a running theme with their group. She stepped off the fairies as well, ignoring the hand Lily had extended to help her off. "You okay?" She asked, looking down at the red and swollen ankle. An injury she had only gotten because of her.

"No worries, no worries." The dog faunus shrugged it off. Wanda helped lower her to the ground where she then hunched over the swollen wound. If Violet was being honest, she would've felt a little better if Lily got mad at her. As if sensing what it was she was thinking, her partner began to shake her head. "Seriously, it's all good. Wanda here has many talents. She says those fairies she creates should be able to heal me up right pronto."

"I do not create the fairies." Wanda corrected. She was leaning over Lily's swollen ankle and held an open palm to it. "I simply open a rift between our plane of existence and theirs so they can pass through." Two green fairies fluttered into existence, hovering over the wound and began healing it.

While she worked, the ground they were standing on shook. It reminded them all that a very big, very angry Grimm was still climbing after them and they only had about half a minute to figure out how to deal with it. And until Wanda finished her healing, they were down two teammates. Not only that, but the sun was rolling over the horizon now.

Dawn was officially here.

Which meant if this didn't count as Beacon grounds, they had already failed. So they might as well work extra hard to make sure they didn't die on top of that.

* * *

 **Chapter End**


	16. Finale

Beta: Jefardi

Cover Art: Natzo

* * *

 **Flower**

 _Finale_

* * *

Silence.

There was nothing but absolute silence. Like the calm before a mighty storm. Even Violet's own breathing had stilled, her body terse and frigid in preparation for final combat. The unseen Spider-Grimm that had been making a racket the whole way up had gone deathly still.

It was unnerving. Some hopeful part in the back of her mind just wanted to believe the Terrorantula had slipped and was falling. The rational, logical, portion told her they would already know if that was the case. This Grimm, like it or not, was intelligent. It knew they were waiting for it.

So now the two opposing sides were at an awkward stand-off. Them not able to see it over the cliff and too terrified to creep closer lest it lunge forward and drag them into the abyss. It too wise to poke its head up and get beaten back unceremoniously.

The longer this went, the more it was in their favor, at least. Wanda was still using her Fairies to patch up Lily's swollen ankle. Until completed, it was up to the remaining two to guard them. She would feel better if all four of them were combat ready before the creature of darkness grew too impatient and made its move.

Of course, the Grimm never moved as you wanted or expected them too. It was like they were trying to kill you or something.

The ground shook again. Instead of the tremors caused by the Grimm scaling the side of the wall, however, it felt more like the earth beneath them was ripping itself asunder. Glancing down, Violet quickly realized the truth. The ground _was_ tearing apart, cracks splitting out from right beneath them.

"Scatter!" She didn't even realize it was her that shouted this command until after she was already moving. She dove forward and closer to the cliff. Wanda had leapt with her. Rue and Lily had both gone in the opposite direction, the faunus doing more of a roll and the white-haired girl landing protectively next to her.

Not even a full moment after they were all clear and the earth erupted, akin to a volcano. Hunks of rocks the size of cars were tossed in the air. Droplets of green liquid sprayed off those rocks, melting them down and leaving hissing holes wherever they rained.

It was in that moment Violet knew what the Terrorantula had done. It had been using that acidic spit from earlier to burrow beneath them and get into position to take them all out. The scary part was it had almost worked.

" _Hsssssss!"_ The fortunate part was that it hadn't. A fact that greatly aggravated the already ticked off monster. Enough so that it left the protection of the hole it had dug itself, crawling out with startling dexterity. It only took a second to take in its surroundings, red eyes locking with disconcerting focus on the eldest Arc sibling.

One of those red eyes was still bleeding profusely, oozing blood and other bodily Grimm fluids over its grotesque face and off. It appeared to remember exactly who had caused it such a grievous wound. She supposed it was probably too late for an apology as it charged her, and by default Wanda too.

Backing up any further was out of the question. She didn't exactly fancy the idea of taking another fall off the cliff to her rear. Wanda seemed to have a similar line of thought, both girls stepping forward to meet the Grimm's charge head on. _"Hssss!"_

It began building up to spit another wad of acid. Violet had no intention of letting it do that again. She drew her sword. Time slowed. Before the spider - or anyone else for that matter - knew what had transpired, Violet was directly under it.

She thrust up and stabbed into the creature's lower jaw, on the inside of it's pincers. _"Hssssssss!"_ The screech it let out was so loud and terrible that it shook her all the way to the bone, causing them to rattle from the sound alone. With more force, she pinned its mouth shut, lessening the power of that shriek only slightly.

The spider reared up on its back legs, the front four all rising high. Those jagged limbs then came down in a haphazard attempt to skewer her. They never even got close. Wanda appeared to her left, the flute elongated into a metal staff. To her right was Rue, double-barreled shotgun transforming into twin short-swords. She swung those swords with brutal accuracy, slicing into the two legs on her side.

 _Boom_

An explosion rocked the rear of the Spider, no doubt caused by Fetch. Just under the Grimm's belly, she could see Lily hopping to retrieve her weapon. Whatever those faeries did to heal, it was effective.

Violet pulled her sword free. A pool of blood instantly formed at her feet, pouring out like a fountain from the gaping wound she left. The Grimm tried to scream again, but it was a hoarse and shattered attempt. It wobbled and scuttered, the injuries inflicted to its limbs keeping it from putting too much weight onto any one side.

It retreated. Violet had never known a Grimm to do that before. They always attacked with such single-minded aggression like this one had up until a moment ago. It was thoughtless actions like this that made the Grimm somewhat manageable. However, this one had proven itself capable of rationalized thought once already.

Some small part of her brain told her this was only natural. If she had been that injured she would retreat too. It was bested and knew it. However, if it was really trying to retreat, why wasn't it heading for the cliffs?

Violet's orange eyes darted to the dark abyss they crossed to get here. If the Spider had just bee-lined it there they wouldn't dare follow it. Instead, it was backing further over the flat plane they were fighting on. It couldn't possibly escape them long, stumbling around drunkenly like it was.

The back of the Grimm bumped against one of the car-sized rocks it had launched skywards previously and scuttled around the side of it. Two legs gave out entirely in the process and its steady retreat turned more into a crawl. A trail of blood marred the ground it slid across.

"Disgusting…" Rue clicked her teeth. None of them were making a real effort to chase it, instead approaching cautiously. There was no point in forcing the dying creature to feel like it was in a corner. That would only make it more dangerous and unpredictable. If they left it alone, it should just die. They also couldn't risk turning their backs on it, lest it get any ideas.

The four girls lined up, stalking slowly towards the Terrorantula. Lily held Fetch underarm, looking like she was about to throw it like a professional bowler. Wanda walked with her staff held out in front of her at an angle. Rue's twin swords hung loosely at her sides, the knuckles that gripped them turning white. Violet sheathed her katana but didn't let go of the hilt.

It was only once they reached the same big rock the spider had bumped into that Wanda stopped first. The Terrorantula hadn't even made it another fifteen feet from that spot before it collapsed and quit moving. The only reason they knew it was alive was the occasional spasm and the fact it hadn't begun to disintegrate. The other three followed Wanda's lead, glancing back at their pink-haired teammate. Their unasked question hung silently in the air. "The faeries… have a _very_ bad feeling about this." They all shared a silent look.

Lily shrugged. "I ain't about to doubt the faeries now. They've been pretty good to me so far."

"I can't disagree with that." Rue nodded, albeit reluctantly.

Violet didn't get the chance to respond. Movement from the Terrorantula caught her attention and orange eyes darted back to the massive spider-

Just in time to watch the whole creature swell up like a balloon. Its already bulbous body inflated to three times its original size. Accompanying that inflation was a noise comparable to the tearing of fabric. As if to keep with the metaphor, its skin began to unravel, stretching apart at the very seems. A sickly, pale green light poured out from the tears in the Spider's flesh before a new noise overrode the previous one. This time a high-pitched whine increasing rapidly in frequency.

Violet didn't need the fairies to know this thing was about to blow up.

And she didn't need them to know there was absolutely nothing they could do to stop it either.

* * *

 **Chapter End**


	17. Flowers in Bloom

Beta: Jefardi

Cover Art: Natzo

* * *

 **Flower**

 _Flowers in Bloom_

* * *

"Whew! How lucky is it we survived _that_?" Lily's boisterous laughter left Violet concerned for her partner's sanity.

After a near miss like what they had just gone through, however, she supposed it was something she could overlook. This time. That seriously had been way too close for comfort.

There had only been about all of a second between when the Terrorantula began to inflate to when it exploded to get clear. And they hadn't exactly taken full advantage of that second, stopping to stare while it happened. There also hadn't been many places to hide from the eruption of sickly green Grimm energy. Fortunately, they happened to be just next to their best bet.

When the Spider-Grimm had burst out from the ground earlier it had sent several humongous rocks flying up with it. And it just so happened they were standing right next to one of such rocks when the deathly blast went off.

The four girls hadn't even needed to communicate. They all realized at the same time that the only way they could survive was diving behind it and had huddled together so closely it would have been downright uncomfortable in any other situation. Given that none of them were looking to be incinerated today there hadn't been any complaints, of course.

"That was truly a vile source of power." Wanda appeared to agree with Lily, the pink-haired girl the first one of them to peek out from the protection of their new favorite rock.

"What do you expect from something that blew itself up in order to take us with it? Suicide is always pretty ugly." Rue shakily transformed her twin swords back into a double-barreled shotgun, holding the weapon close to her chest. She didn't bother to get up to see the destruction, sitting curled up with her back leaned against the rock.

Her own knees still feeling weak, Violet struggled to stand up straight. The sight of aftermath did little to help her condition and if anything made her legs feel even more like jelly. A crater too deep to see the bottom occupied the spot that had once been the Terrorantula. Nothing was left of the Spider-Grimm aside from that crater, now the only proof of its existence.

Outside of that crater, the once rust-colored rock they had been standing on was charred pitch black. Everything up to and including the face and sides of the rock they had used for cover had been burnt to a crisp. Waves of heat so strong they distorted the air were still rolling off the blackened earth and she felt her motion-sickness act up just looking into it.

Lily let out a low whistle, the third of them who managed to stand. "Seriously, I think we used up all our luck for the rest of the year on this one."

"Not like we'll need it." Rue grumbled, finally starting to rise. "We're all going to be sent home once we get back anyways."

That was right. The Initiation. They hadn't made it back in time… which meant they had failed. Violet had no idea how she was supposed to face her family. An Arc hadn't failed Beacon's Initiation in… well, she didn't think any of her ancestry had ever failed, actually. She would be the first. Not exactly a medal of honor.

"Who said anything about sending you ladies home?" All four of them jumped at the new voice. Not only hadn't they been expecting it, but it was also reasonable to say they were still a little on edge after the close call. At least, that was the excuse Violet was prepared to give as she and her teammates all aimed their weapons at the Headmaster of Beacon.

He smiled. "Relax, I mean no harm." As if to prove his point, Ozpin took a nice long sip of his coffee mug. He was dressed in the same formal attire as the day before, the light of the rising sun illuminating him brightly and reminding Violet that the rest of them were still in their sleepwear.

"Are you saying we didn't fail?" She fought past the rising heat on her face in having to address such an influential figure while wearing nothing but a onesie.

"Fail?" Ozpin asked, actually looking surprised. "Oh goodness, no. The four of you did excellent. In fact, I would go so far as to say above and beyond."

"But we didn't… we never made it back." Rue gestured to the Beacon tower. Ozpin turned to look at it. When he turned back he had that smile people made when they knew something you didn't. Violet hated that smile.

"There appears to be a misunderstanding." He pulled a small piece of rolled up paper out of his breast pocket and handed it to them. "Read it again, more carefully this time." Violet accepted the paper and when she unrolled it, saw the same riddle that had been in her sleeping bag.

"This says the limit is dawn." She failed to see how Ozpin planned to explain to them they passed when his own riddle contradicted just that.

"Yes it does." Ozpin tapped the paper with the bottom of his mug. "And tell me, where on there does it say anything about having to exit the maze to pass?" All four of them looked down at the paper again.

"So you're saying," Lily started.

Wanda finished. "That the time limit of dawn was only to find a partner?"

"Precisely." Ozpin took another sip of coffee.

"But yesterday you said…" Rue began but then stopped. She realized it at the same time Violet did. Ozpin's message in the amphitheatre had been meant to throw them off. They had been thinking about his words too hard and took them to mean things that weren't there to begin with. His speech and this riddle were separate objectives from the offset.

"Sometimes the correct answer is the most obvious one." The headmaster looked at them all individually. "Still, the four of you performed exceptionally well. No other team has yet to make it this far. Since it will be some time before the remaining applicants arrive, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to give you your official team name and leader now." His gaze settled on her last.

"Violet Arc." She straightened at the commanding, almost regal tone he addressed her in.

"Lily." The faunus girl simply grinned.

"Wanda Weigela." She responded with a curtsey.

"Rue Sylvia." With a smirk, she flicked one of her looped twintails.

"The four of you, henceforth until you graduate from Beacon, will be the members that comprise of team VLWR."

"Uh, Headmaster." Lily interrupted, holding her hand high as if to be called on in class. "I'm just saying, but I don't think Flower starts with a V-" She stopped when Ozpin stared at her silently, his gaze almost daring her to finish. "You know what, VLWR is an awesome team name. I couldn't have come up with a better one myself. Carry on."

He nodded. "Team VLWR shall be led by,"

"Violet Arc."

She felt their gazes on her without even having to turn. Lily's eyes were naturally hidden behind her bangs and that damn smile of hers was too ambiguous to make any sense of. Wanda at least seemed to nod in approval. Rue... well, it just looked like she swallowed something bitter and was attempting not to spit it back out. All in all, they had a lot of work to do if they were going to be a proper team.

Of course, for that to happen Violet was going to need to learn to trust them first. She wasn't going to mince words, that would be the most difficult thing for her to overcome. If there was one thing she learned from this experience today, it was that she needed to trust them all in order to survive. This was just initiation and she had been nearly killed multiple times. She was only alive thanks to them.

Swallowing her pride, Violet turned to them and gave the best smile she possibly could. It was crooked and awkward; evidence when Lily snorted. Wanda actually looked somewhat terrified and Rue just cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Right..." Violet cleared her throat, orange eyes shifting to the headmaster. He held up his mug, as if giving her the floor. "Uh, I'm not good at this speech stuff. I'll be sure to improve on it as your leader. In fact, there are many things I will need to improve about myself in order to properly guide you all. There are going to be many times I need to rely on your strength. I'm... counting on you. So please count on me too."

She felt ridiculous. That whole speech was so out-of-character for her she felt like burying her head in the dirt and pretending it never happened. There was no taking it back now, so instead she lifted her chin and was sure to stare straight ahead and at her team.

Lily gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up. "Wouldn't have it any other way, partner." She leaned her head to the side, shifting her bangs to reveal a single brown eye that she then winked at her.

Wanda clasped her hands together. "I am most honored to be a part of your team, Violet. Let us continue to get along splendidly."

"..." Rue looked to bite back some form of insult before giving a ragged sigh. "If you're serious about improving... then so am I. There's no sense in getting stronger all on my own." Her silver eyes which had been trailing the ground between their feet looked up and met Violet's gaze directly. "You better make sure we become one badass team."

Violet felt herself smile, naturally this time.

It was only the first step, but they were a real team now.

Her team.

* * *

 **End**

* * *

 **Afterword**

* * *

Thanks to everyone willing to indulge my selfishness and check out this OC story.

Special thanks to Jefardi, who had to Beta such a story.

Truthfully, I've got several more ideas and stories for this team and their time at Beacon. Odds are I won't write them, however. I mean, this was just initiation and it turned out this long. Who knows how long it would take me to do those other tales. It's probably better I focus on stories that involve characters you all actually hop on this site to read about, haha.

Regardless, if you read to the end; I hope you found the characters I created to be entertaining and that - even if just a little - you grew to care about them.

So now I'll talk a little about one of the OC's (Semblances, weapons, pasts, appearance, and their inception), along with some of the other things I ended up brainstorming in this story in case you're interested. This is kinda long (longer than any of the chapters) and the whole thing is just extra reading so it's okay if you're not. I'll understand.

I'll start with the obvious: Violet Arc. Anyone who reads Spectrum more or less knows everything I'll have to say. So she was pretty much the first OC I ever created, before even the characters I made in Auburn. At her core creation; she's proud, stubborn, has serious trust-issues, and is very family-oriented. Honestly, I feel like Violet is a pretty good class-example of Mary Sue when looked at as a protagonist. I think Spectrum gets away with it some because she's either a side-character for most of it, or an antagonist-by-proxy for the rest.

Violet's appearance is actually based on Assassin from Fate Stay/Night (The Sasaki Koujirou version), just obviously gender-bent. I hear a lot of reviewers say they picture her as Erza from Fairy Tail which I think works pretty well (provided you just make her hair color purple and eyes orange) when she's in her more Eastern-style outfits. Certainly not in her knight-look. I also picture Violet with a much more modest bust than Erza, but don't let me deter your dreams of an OC.

She's the eldest of eight siblings, six other sisters and one brother. Because of this position, Violet, was forced to take on a lot of responsibility from a very young age. In a lot ways, she felt she had to grow up fast in order to be the role model they needed. Violet got so used to having to carry herself with an air of complete confidence and assurance that eventually it just became who she was.

While this proud and mature personality earned the respect and gratification of her siblings, it generally only got her ire and frustration from her peers. Most other kids her age felt Violet was looking down on them (and really, it's because she was), and it was only made worse by Violet's powerful Semblance and skill with the sword. So she became isolated from those peers and the only real bond she had was with the siblings she became this way for. She, of course, loves all her siblings and considers them the most important people in the world. It's not wrong to say she would give anything to protect and keep them safe.

Violet's Semblance.

I generally just refer to is as misdirection. It's based off of Maniwa Pengin's Ninpo from Katanagatari, but obviously I made some changes to the ability. What her semblance essentially does is divert anything coming at her and bends it out of the way; Bullets, punches, elements, all of it.

It has one glaring weakness and that is it cannot redirect anything that has been ricocheted. At her current level she can't bend abstract things like light, heat, sound or gravity. When she's older and stronger, she is capable of diverting all these things if she focuses on it. It'd be pretty boring if she was already at that level in this story, however. She has to have multiple weaknesses otherwise there's no challenge. However, in Spectrum, where she's the antagonist-by-proxy, she needs the sense of being initially overwhelming.

Because the story is from Violet's perspective she already mulled over what part of her personality her Semblance reflects, so I'll spare explaining it again.

Ostrum Tempus

That's Violet's katana. I know that sounds weird, giving a Japanese sword a Latin name. The sword was forged by Violet's ancestor, who actually gave it a different name, but over time Violet's ancestors changed the name and didn't take into consideration the origin of the weapon.

It's a type Living Weapon and is powered by Ambience. Which is Aura for an inanimate object. Because it has an Aura, it also has a Semblance which is the time-altering ability Violet utilized throughout. To recap, it appears to slow Violet's perception of time while drawing it. This means there's a small window of opportunity for her opponent between when the sword leaves the sheath and her time returns to normal in order to counter-attack. It's not much and when Violet is older, her Iaijutsu is more or less perfected. Combined with her Semblance, Violet eventually becomes almost untouchable. For now, she has a lot to learn, however.

Next up we have Lily.

Lily doesn't have a last name, she's just Lily. Her name is of course in reference to the flower. Like it says in the summary, she's a Golden Retriever Faunus. Now I'm not sure how feasible or not that is in the world of Remnant, but I'm pretty sure if we're able to suspend our disbelief enough for faunus in the first place, then I should be able to go crazy and specify the breed of dog she is part of.

Is her breed relevant? Eh, I guess not. Lily has some key-traits of the Golden Retriever breed as part of her personality, but that's pretty generic stuff. The reason I bother at all with the specification is because Lily is actually the name of my dog's mother (I'm not sure how weird it sounds that I remember that, but it is what it is) and as you can probably guess, they were both Golden Retrievers. So this is just me adding a personal touch to an OC.

Lily is at her core, extremely loyal, always smiling, and much more keen than she pretends to be.

For appearance, I usually picture Lily as Akiyama Yukari from Girls und Panzer. Of course, she has the additional pair of floppy Golden Retriever ears.

Lily's Semblance.

Officially, I call it Paw Mark, but I don't think Semblances actually have things like ability names. Just made it easier to have something to call it during the planning process.

The ability is two-fold. First, she can infuse a small part of Aura anywhere she places her hand and leave a glowing, paw-shaped mark. These marks act as receivers for Lily to hear from, essentially a wire-tap without the wire. At will, she can make these marks "fade" to conceal them and also cause them to "detonate", utilizing them as something like either a flashbang against her enemies or a beacon for her allies.

When I created Lily, she was intended pretty much purely as a support character for Violet, and her Semblance more or less reflects this. It's useful for gathering intel and initiating combat, but once the battle has begun has limited uses as it takes her time to gather the Aura to plant another mark.

Lily's Semblance actually tells a lot about her. The paw-shaped mark it leaves behind is obviously representative of her Faunus heritage. It can fade into the background or "Shine" bright and draw your attention, reflective of Lily's nature to seek attention from those she's recognized and trusts. The listening ability is then a reflection of her more nosey-side. Once she considers you a friend, she takes it very seriously to be in all parts of your business, usually to an insufferable amount.

Like she said, she's an orphan. However, I don't feel Lily herself views this as a horrible thing, or even all that sad really. It's just a fact. She never knew her parents so it's not really worth being hung-up on the fact that they're gone. Not to her. Lily is much more forward-thinking and optimistic about it. Even the bullying she went through is something in the past now and because of it, she built the bonds she has and it gave her the resolve to get stronger. She has a family she cares about in the other bullied children who she views as her siblings and her master who she sees as a parental figure.

I think it was important when creating Lily that she had something like a "family" so she and Violet are able to relate to one another. And family is the only thing Violet is really capable of understanding. However, I thought it would be better to make Lily's family not one of blood, but bond and necessity, to eventually provide Violet with a different view on just what exactly it is she considers family to be.

Fetch is the name of Lily's weapon.

It's a white, sports-ball sized orb. Lily essentially fights with it by bouncing it around in a similar way to Captain America and his shield. When she's fighting things a little outside of her weight-class, she can "arm" it with the fire dust inside and cause powerful explosions. When she's older, she makes more modifications to it and includes new types of dust for additional possibilities and combinations.

The weapon's name is obviously just another shameless reference to her faunus heritage. Lily embraces who she is.

Moving onto Wanda Weigela.

Her last name, Weigela, is keeping in line with the plant-origin for the names of the four girls on the team. It's also a commonly pink flower to keep in touch with her color theme. Her first name, Wanda, is directly pulled from Fairly Odd Parents, which if you're familiar with the show, know who I'm talking about. This again ties in with the pink-motif and is also a callout to her gift of being able to see "fairies."

As for what I picture when I think of Wanda, I more or less conjure up an image of Uiharu Kazari from the Railgun spin-off series and just change the appropriate characteristics (namely hair/eye color, dress, and I think of her as a little taller). As far as personality goes, Wanda at her core is seemingly air-headed, lacks understanding of local customs, doesn't know the first thing about sarcasm, but is genuinely good-hearted and more in-tune with people than she lets on.

As stated, she's a nomad. I'm not entirely sure how feasible a life-style that is in Remnant. In one of the World of Remnants, we know bandits essentially do the same thing, wandering from place to place, although their visits to villages usually are less than friendly. Wanda has never been inside a Kingdom until now, but her people don't have a very high opinion of them.

Like Lily, Wanda doesn't know who her mother and father are. They're likely alive, but in the tribe she travelled with, it is custom to put all the children together and have them raised by a single care-giver. This way, the children grow up associating the whole tribe as their family. The entire tribe even has the same last name, in order to create a sense of unity.

Wanda ended up leaving because of a Hunter that travelled with their group for some time and became fascinated by his stories of Beacon Academy and the Kingdoms, much to the tribe's disapproval. She, of course, hopes to one day change their outlook.

Faeries.

Wanda's Semblance does not create the faeries. What it actually does is open a rift between dimensions that the faeries she's able to see are then able to pass through. Being able to see them might be a by-product of this Semblance... but it also might not. Not even Wanda is sure if that's a separate gift or not.

So what does Wanda's Semblance say about her as a person? Wanda yearns to be able to connect with everyone she meets and leave a lasting impression. So her Semblance is something that "connects" two entirely different planes of existence together and allows a whole other species to cross over. In other words; it's not so much who Wanda is, that her Semblance represents, but who she wants most to be.

I call Wanda's weapon Limbe Duu in my notes, but I don't remember what it means or what the language origin comes from. My bad. I assume it had something to do with nomadic culture but heck if I know. It's a flute and when Wanda plays it, expels different variants of Dust. The faeries fly through the Dust to take on the nature of it and give them numerous abilities. The different melodies she plays also conveys different strategies that the faeries will follow.

If she needs to fight in close-combat, the flute can also extend into a staff.

Finally we have Rue Sylvia.

So Rue is a little different in that she and Violet already have an established relationship. And by relationship I mean bitter rivalry. Of course, the two of them are more alike than either are willing to admit and sub-consciously they kind of sense that about one another which makes them even more uncomfortable to be together. It's like being forced to look at the part of yourself you find disgusting. At the same time, they're almost drawn to that familiarity and can't help but have a rapport going whenever they're in the same room.

Her last name "Sylvia" sounds kind of like silver, which is her color scheme. I've seen the name in several places, the one that stands out in recent memory is from Trinity Wonder, a webtoon I'm actually pretty far behind on at this point. First name, Rue, is again keeping in with the plant-based theme for names and also because of the more negative-meaning synonyms it has. That sounds kind of mean, but it's just meant to reflect her more harsh personality towards Violet.

What I picture when I think of Rue is Tenri Ayukawa/Diana from The World God Only Knows. Same drill as before, with swapping in my head to the appropriate colors.

Rue's Semblance is pretty much a Blink. In other words, she can teleport a short distance away. She has to be able to see where it is she's teleporting to, and even then can only go about 15 yards. She essentially has two charges for her blink which reset on a cool-down, one for each eye. So if she "Blinks" using her left eye, she has to wait 15 seconds to "blink" again using that eye, but she can "blink" again immediately with her right eye.

Rue's weapon is a double-barreled shotgun that can transform into a pair of short-swords. In my notes, I called it Aggro Max. I think it was supposed to be a Mad Max reference? I really need to include things like that in my notes so I can remember what the Hell it is I was thinking. The weapon is actually one that was supposed to be manufactured by the company Rue's mother owned. It was the latest test model and never came out for official production before the company went under and was shut down.

Like Violet, Rue attended Signal academy to become a Huntress. However, unlike Violet, she was attending against her will. It was something her mother forced her to do, for reasons Rue never understood. She planned to quit after graduating from Signal instead of going onto one of the higher Huntsmen schools. Things obviously didn't work out that way.

Rue's mother was the president of a company called the Sylvia Corporation and they were a pretty big name in the weapons business. In Rue's last year at Signal it came to light that her mother was running the company using illegal practices and a formal inquiry was launched. Before her mother could stand trial for her actions, she vanished. Rue hasn't seen her since. Her inheritance and family gone, reputation ruined, and no true friends to speak of, Rue did the only thing she could; Followed Violet to Beacon. They might not have been friends and even detested each other, but Violet was the closest to a personal connection Rue had. So she made do with that.

So now I guess I'll talk about the group as a whole.

Back when I had named Violet, it was just for the color and I hadn't been thinking about violets as in flowers. When it came to a point in Spectrum where I needed to fill out her team, I ended up going with flowers as the theme for all their names.

Then because of the important role family plays in Violet's life, it was imperative the rest of them also have a similar base, but with each girl I decided to focus on different kind of "family." Lily who views her family as fellow orphans. Wanda who comes from a tribe that views itself as one big family. And Rue whose only family is her mother.

When it came to deciding on their personalities, it was mostly what tropes I thought would annoy a character like Violet the most, haha.

Everything else I suppose just followed naturally and was based on things I found interesting at the time.

With that done, I'll talk about the inception behind Ruby Canyon.

First off, why pick a different place? Mostly just because the Emerald Forest has been done to death. I've done it once myself and if I can avoid it I plan to never have to write a story where I put the characters in it again. Also, this is a different year, so I think it's reasonable to assume they have a different local and we know they use different relics every year. Probably as a way to keep them guessing.

So why call it Ruby Canyon? The first reason is just because they have something called the Emerald Forest, a green forest. I figured there wasn't much of a stretch of them having a red canyon nearby and just went with the next most obvious naming convention. The other reason is it kind of feels like I'm paying a slight homage to the actual show by inserting something with the title "Ruby" in it, even if that is a sketchy connection at best.

You also can't have a maze without a Minotaur. Which is pretty much all I have to say about that, haha. It's not like I got super creative with this Grimm or anything, just stuck with the good ol' Cliche. The Terrorantula too. Its name is a strange combination of Terror and Tarantula. Sounded like a pretty Grimm-esque name. Again, not my most creative work. Just a giant Lord of the Rings style spider, really. Not much else to say about it.

Which is more or less all from me. Thank you again!


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